Despite the increasing use of sport events in portfolios as a tourism place-making tool, academic research on this phenomenon is sparse within sport management. In response, the purpose of this theoretical contribution is to review and synthesize pertinent literature on sport events and tourism management in order to set the ground towards developing a policy framework for leveraging event portfolios and creating value for the host destination’s tourism product. To this end, an event portfolio tourism leveraging model is proposed building upon the theoretical tenets of a holistic event portfolio approach integrated with the perspectives on economic event leverage, event tourism portfolio, and destination capitals. It is argued that the proposed model can be used to more effectively integrate sport events into destination development. In doing so, the paper calls for the need to conduct more systematic, nuanced and comprehensive investigations within sport event management that will build knowledge on leveraging multiple events for obtaining multiple benefits.

Although the potential value of an event portfolio strategy has been suggested in the literature, there are no empirical studies exploring the nature and implementation of event portfolios. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study was to understand an event portfolio by uncovering the interrelationships and synergies that assemble different events together as valuable community assets and foster an integrative mindset toward their use. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in the rural community of Fort Stockton, Texas, investigating its event portfolio. Results show that event interrelationships are grounded on the instrumental connectivity of events in terms of sharing common elements, objectives, and resources. This cultivates an organic event relatedness that capitalizes on experiential capacity, maintenance of volunteer pools, and generation of new or complementary markets. The local governmental structure enables collaboration setting mutual objectives, sharing common resources, and coordinating event implementations. However, strategic planning is not employed, and subsequently, events in the portfolio are not cross‐leveraged, leaving missed opportunities to magnify its value. The findings of this study have implications for event policy and management. A holistic policy approach is required if it is to foster and fully exploit the potential of event portfolios. Event planners need to create synergies among different events and integrate associated economic, tourism, leisure, sport, or socio‐cultural objectives by formulating and implementing joint strategies. A focus on event interrelationships can ultimately help event planners find the best means to leverage event portfolios.

This study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athens’ cultural tourism and the city’s potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athens’ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athens’ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the city’s identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host city’s tourism development.